How HR can help the bottom line

Earlier this year, PricewaterhouseCoopers released a “10Minutes” paper offering companies advice on how to transform their human resources in order to get more value out of it.

The paper recommended a move towards outcome-oriented performance measures, by focusing more on the impact of HR on the overall business, the value created by HR, performance based on talent and the revenue, profit and cost of a company’s workforce compared to its productivity.

Four key insights of how HR can help the bottom line were explained.

1. Build the brand – enhance company reputation by aligning the external brand with desired corporate culture

2. Align talent and corporate strategies – find talent that will help turn strategy into reality

3. Develop talent – Encourage talent and leadership development while creating a performance culture

4. Measure success – measure the impact of HR activities on business results

The paper cites data from PwC’s 13th Annual Global CEO Survey that found 79 percent of CEOs intend to refocus on how they manage people through change, which suggests “a fundamental need to align HR strategies with the overall business strategy.”

Technology, says PwC, can help move HR away from administrative tasks to focus more on strategic value-added activities and can help with tasks such as recruitment, enhanced employee services, and more actionable human data.

Other highlights of the paper include:

• More than 75% of HR work hours are spent on administrative transactions.¹

• Business leaders are increasingly demanding that HR departments focus on strategic human capital issues.

• The link between talent and business results was never more apparent than during the financial crisis, as pivotal employees proved the difference at many firms.

• HR must be both strategically driven and administratively flawless.
^{1. PwC HR activity analysis}

Click here to read 10Minutes on transforming HR.